The two sisters

Abbey, Edwin Austin (1852-1911)

Item type:

drawing

Date of creation:

1882

Height:

59.2 cm  (23 5/16 in.)

Width:

89.5 cm  (35 1/4 in.)

Technique / Medium:

watercolor and gouache over graphite underdrawing

Place of creation:

United States

Description

In a modest, sunlit interior setting, two young women wearing small white caps are pictured making music together; one stands, holding a piece of music in her right hand; the other is seated at a large harpsichord (lid closed, making her hands and the keyboard--or keyboards--invisible); several pieces of sheet music lie on the floor; a neighboring thatched-roof building is partially visible through the windows in the background.

Iconclass

48C7523
one person playing keyboard instrument
48C75512
female singer
41D221
head-gear

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Harpsichord [2251] (possibly piano)

Musical works

illegible music notation

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

Bibliographic references

Kottick, Edward L. A history of the harpsichord (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003) especially chapters 16-17.

Notes

Based on its outward appearance, the instrument here would seem to be an 18th century style double manual harpsichord. It could, however, represent a piano built within a harpsichord case. Description of the 19th century's revival in harpsichord building may be found in Edward Kottick's book "A History of the Harpsichord" published by Indiana University Press in 2003.

RIdIM record id

6252